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by Quinn_Oct



Series: Liar's Paradox [5]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Attends Shujin Academy, Angst, Gen, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Sorry, M/M, No Spoilers for P5R, and tagging, can you tag this as character death when it's de-existing?, no beta we die like goro in vanilla
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26854201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinn_Oct/pseuds/Quinn_Oct
Summary: Akira, the ever selfless, ever altruistic, Martyr-slash-leader of the Phantom Thieves, has that look in his eyes that tells Goro all he needs to know. That stare, that glance, the molten lava cooling into stone -- Goro fears that Akira would push through, that the raven would accept the outstretched hand offered by the false God.(Liar's paradox is a series of one-shots that are not connected to each other.)
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Liar's Paradox [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896790
Kudos: 23





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**Author's Note:**

> I really didn't know how to summarize or tag this, because even I don't know what's the point of this.... enjoy my brainrot

And finally, their eyes met.

Goro held his breath as Akira stared directly at him, the light of the false god behind him casting a halo to his features. His expression rendered Goro speechless - with Akira giving a smile different from the previous ones he gave: small, genuine, and tinged with melancholia.

It took a moment for his detective brain to click, mind hazy but eyes focusing on the other wildcard, dangerously close to accomplishing Goro’s greatest fear.

Which he did.

** ”It’s not too late to save you, my prince.” **

His cries fell on deaf ears, unheard of and forgotten in the sea of despair and hurt. Sloshing waves and violent turns taking him by the waist and pulling him under, the hands of the damned reaching for another comrade. For the moment that lasted a lifetime, Goro soul plummeted to the ground along with his knees, tears streaming down his face accompanied with screams of anguish reaching the depths of hell itself.

What he would give to have those gentle hands caress his cheeks again, to have those soft lips kiss his tears goodbye, to have saccharine words teasing him whenever he lost his composure. Reduced to a lachrymose emotion, he would give it all to hear the soft chuckle and see the small smirk grace the raven’s features once more.

But it was too late.

** ”Crow, we gotta go!!” ** Goro vaguely heard Panther scream, footsteps of the other thieves running away from something in front of them. A mechanical monster, perhaps, quickly corrupted with the color of rust and the smell of decay. Falling apart through metallic comets, the brunet’s jumbled thoughts might’ve described it pretty.

Noticing that the detective is not making any move to escape the light, Skull and Fox ran back quickly, the two injured males sharing the weight of Akechi - who not so much as protest or whine - to carry him to safety.

He is looking but he cannot see, present yet absent, alive yet dead; as he had always been before the appearance of the trickster in his life. Looking at the graceful figure of said trickster laying in crimson getting further away from him, Goro thought that he wouldn’t mind walking into the light.

* * *

He woke up with a cold sweat.

Torso springing up from the bed, he ran his fingers through his tangled hair, calming his still racing heart.

_ ’a dream?’ _

He glanced toward the window, seeing the colors of dawn peek through his powder curtains. Taking his phone from the nightstand, the box-like figures of 05:00 stared right back at him with the harsh brightness of LCD. He sighed and got up, making his way to the bathroom. A breath of relief escaped his lungs, wiping dried tears off his face at the thought of it all being just a nightmare.

He came down to the smell of... breakfast? Suddenly on high alert, he carefully walked out of his room, loosening his striped tie and reaching for his gu— which he left in the living room.  _ ’Fuck.’ _

He heard a voice a sweet voice hum through the sizzling sound, a voice soft and familiar and everything Goro longed for. The voice was his first warmth, his lost home. Memories of huddling inside a thin blanket for winter, of feeling rich and satisfied despite the poverty, of smiles and lullabies and sweet dreams to sleep, and of cuddles and childlike happiness found in a maternal embrace.

His guard is now gone, replaced by teary eyes and a shaking voice, making his presence known.

** ”M-mom?” **

The figure turned around from the stove, chestnut hair tied in a low ponytail, eyes the same shade as his looking back at him lovingly. Her face still beautiful even with the age, her skin glowing and form healthy, a sight Goro never got to see. A form his mother never got to live long enough to reach.

Before Goro could even get a word in, the smiling face of Ms. Akechi turned to confusion, mouth clicking before turning her attention back to what she was cooking.

** ”Goro, why are you not in your uniform? I thought we talked about this last night.” ** his mother spoke.  ** ”There are no active cases today, right? Your school attendance is mandatory.” ** Turning off the stove and setting up a plate, she turned back to the teenager with a strict yet soft smile.

** ”Go back and change to your uniform, I left it in your closet. Don’t you have responsibilities back in Shujin?” **

** ”Shujin?!”  **

Goro might’ve let his voice raise a fraction higher than what is allowed this early in the morning, and physically tried not to run and hug his mother who slightly grimaced at the volume.

His mother looked at him as if he grew two heads.  ** ”..Yes, Shujin. Your school.” **

Before he could protest, his mother pushed him all the way back to his room, and on the way, Goro notices that his apartment seemed more spacious yet well lived on (and also the additional room he swore was not there before).

Once inside the room, he began to process the events ( _ '..?' _ ) that left him confuzzled this early in the morning. True to her word, The Shujin jacket and plaid trousers were in his closet, along with a black turtle neck to accompany it. In a weak attempt of finding normalcy in this happy-go-lucky reality, he reached for his phone and checked his contacts, searching for the name he found comfort in for the past months.

There was no Kurusu, and in his search, he also found out that there was no Shido.

When he finished changing, he exited his bedroom, bracing himself for the feeling of ’off-ness’ that would surely meet him.

He was instead greeted by a black cat with white areas, blue eyes staring at him with a yellow collar around its neck.

** ”Morgana?” **

** ”Oh, so Morgana’s there. Wondered where he went off when I came in.” ** a female voice replied. Goro looked at the direction from where the young voice came from, and to his astonishment, see Futaba sitting on the dinner table, eating breakfast that was supposed to be his. The ginger wore the Shujin uniform, jacket left open with her suspenders hanging from the plaid skirt.  ** ”Yo.” ** the female said.

Goro was left speechless, standing like a statue with the speaking ability of the little mermaid when she got her voice stolen. The other two didn’t seem to mind, Futaba in all her eccentricity saying thanks to his mom’s cooking in her odd words of compliments.

Futaba turned his attention to him, mouth forming a grin while letting Morgana jump on her bag.  ** ”Eat up, Akechi. You’re walking me to my first day of school today.” **

To say that the events today scared him as much as it confused him. Time must’ve been reset, or he’s in a different reality, for a sinful man like him can get to live normally and freely without his tainted hands chaining him to consequence.

He ate crepes with Takamaki. He is pals with Sakamoto. He is the vice president of Shujin with the younger of the Nijima siblings as the president. Kitagawa pesters him to allow him to create the art club, with Morgana being a normal cat. The Yoshizawa twins are both alive. Okumura approaches him like he didn’t kill her father, and -  _ godfucking damnit _ \- Isshiki Wakaba is alive and kicking, being best friends with his supposed-to-be-dead mother when Goro swears that he shot a bullet straight to the cognitive Wakaba’s head.

As bizarre and sickening this all is to him, he noticed a strange reaction that they all seem to share.

The faces of confusion and concern for his well being when he asks them about a 'Kurusu Akira’.

It just doesn’t make sense. Why are the people who are supposed to be dead, alive? Why can he not access the metaverse? Why does Shido not know him? Why,  _ for fucks sake _ , why? is the trickster nowhere to be found?

With all his misanthropic views, his assassin skill, and his faux personality, he is also a detective. He vows that he will get to the bottom of this.

Sitting on his desk back in the office, he checked the registry for any clues and signs of the bespectacled raven.

Spending hours and hours on his supposed ‘investigative work’, he tirelessly surfed the internet, the database - anything he could get his hands on. At one point, he even illegally accessed government data just for the proof that the boy is alive. Proof of him existing.

That’s when it all clicked.

There was no Kurusu Akira anywhere. There  _ is _ no Kurusu Akira.

Goro felt tears slipping down his face once again, a thousand curses and promises filling his brain all directed to the heavens above, hopefully listening to a fool’s plea.

Of what use would a thesis be if there was no antithesis to discover the absolute?

To the false god who played all their lives to ruin, what use would  _ he _ be, if the rival does not exist?

**Author's Note:**

> I used 'Akira' instead of 'Ren' here because Akira's name (the kanji, specifically), means "Dawn" and I just thought it would be fitting to use here.... :DD
> 
> Don't ask me why I made this cuz idk either.. I started college and I'm behind on stuff whoops
> 
> Feel free to talk to / scream at me on [ twt ](https://twitter.com/AntaresQuinn) !! :DD


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